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Maserati wowed the world when it showed us its MC20 junior supercar about two years ago. It has now lopped the top off to present the Maserati MC20 Cielo. The name, in case you were wondering, stands for: MC for Maserati Corse (racing); 20 refers to 2020, the year that began the brand’s new era and Cielo means ‘sky’ in Italian. Fans of the Italian marque may be interested to learn that the car will be heading to SA in 2023.
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Sky watching
The Cielo is the second iteration of the MC20, after the coupe. In addition to these two petrol-powered versions an all-electric variant will be added to the family in due course. Click here to read about the MC20 Coupe.
The most obvious difference between the coupe and the Maserati MC20 Cielo is the roof. The newer version is equipped with a state-of-the-art electrochromic (smart glass) window that can instantly be transformed from clear to opaque at the touch of a button.
For the full ‘sun-tan and wind-in-hair’ drop-top effect the Cielo’s roof can also be folded away into the rear deck. The rear section opens and closes in just 12 seconds at speeds up to 50 km/h to house the glass roof. Unfortunately, once stowed, the roof sits under a panel that obscures the usual view of the mid-mounted engine. Speaking of which…
V6 Power
The Maserati MC20 Cielo doesn’t differ from the fixed top version in terms of its mechanicals. The engine, dubbed Nettuno, is a twin-turbocharged V6 unit. It produces 464 kW of power with 730 N.m of torque. Power is sent exclusively to the rear axle through an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission.
Click here to read about our drive of another exclusive Italian supercar, the MAT Stratos.
Because the MC20 is built around a carbon-fibre tub, there isn’t much need for extra bracing. As a result, the Cielo weighs just 65 kg more than the coupe. As a consequence the performance is only affected to a slight degree. Maserati says the sunseeker can sprint from 0-100 km/h in 3,0 seconds, which is 1/10th slower, and it has a fractionally lower top speed, quoted as “over 320 km/h” as opposed to “over 325 km/h”.
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